Tonjiru (sometimes called Butajiru) is a hearty pork and vegetable miso soup. With just 1 min in the Instant Pot, it will be the ultimate, comfy soup for the fall and winter months!
When I was in college, I used to make a big pot of this pork and vegetable miso soup and ate it throughout the week. Not only it was a hearty miso soup for the soul and brainpower, but it also gave me good nutrients from the meat and all kinds of vegetables. This all-mighty miso soup is called Tonjiru (豚汁) or sometimes called Butajiru.
I’ve already shared a regular Tonjiru recipe that requires cooking on the stovetop, but today I’ll share the Instant Pot Tonjiru recipe. Although the actual cooking time is roughly the same as the stovetop method, the benefit of cooking Tonjiru in the electric pressure cooker is you can walk out of the kitchen once you press “start,” and go back to study, work, or spend the time with your family.
Key Ingredients for Tonjiru
Tonjiru is easy to make, especially if you already know how to make miso soup. For Tonjiru, you will prepare dashi – Japanese soup stock – ahead of time and then stir fry pork and vegetables first before adding dashi to cook them further. Let’s go over the key ingredients in detail below.
1. Pork
This miso soup won’t be called “Tonjiru” or “Butajiru” without pork (ton or buta) in it. In Japanese kanji characters, we write 豚汁 and read it Ton-jiru or Buta-jiru, depending on the Chinese reading or Japanese reading.
The cut of pork can be your choice, but in Japan, pork belly slices are the more popular choice for Tonjiru as it is more flavorful. The next choice is pork loin slices. If you cannot get ready sliced pork belly or pork loin at local Japanese/Asian grocery stores, you can cut the meat into thin slices or strips yourself (See the tutorial here).
2. Vegetables
The flavor essence of the soup comes from pork, but it actually features more vegetables. Common vegetables used in Tonjiru are root vegetables such as:
- carrots
- potatoes or satoimo (Japanese taro)
- daikon (Japanese radish)
- gobo (burdock root)
Besides the root vegetables, there are other ingredients you can add.
- konnyaku (kanjac)
- tofu or aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch)
- shiitake mushrooms or shimeji
- bean sprouts (my mom always includes them)
- green onions/spring onions
We do not put leafy vegetables, but if you like to add, say spinach, I recommend blanching them separately and adding directly to the soup bowl. This way, you can retain the bright green color and won’t overcook the leafy veggies.
3. Dashi (Japanese soup stock)
Because Tonjiru has a lot of ingredients that contribute to a decent-tasting broth, you can get away by using water instead of dashi. However, my choice is always dashi because it gives more depth and umami that pork and vegetables don’t have. You can taste the difference right away.
I use the combination of kombu and katsuobushi for dashi (we call Awase Dashi) in the majority of my cooking, and this recipe is no exception. I highly recommend making homemade dashi, but if you’re in hurry, a dashi packet from Kayanoya makes nice quick dashi in no time.
4. Miso (Japanese fermented soybean paste)
There is no specific type of miso you have to use for Tonjiru. If you like one type of miso (such as white miso, awase miso, or red miso), you can use it. If you are new to miso, read this post to get familiar with it.
For this Tonjiru, I used Enjuku Koji Miso from Hikari Miso®. I love the hint of sweetness that Koji Miso gives. More koji in the miso, the sweeter it tastes.
What Dishes to Serve with Tonjiru
My mom always served Tonjiru in a donburi bowl as it was the main dish, and accompany the soup with a grilled fish. Because Tonjiru has meat in it, she usually avoids meat as a main dish.
I follow the same way and usually serve a simple grilled fish such as Grilled Pacific Saury (Sanma), Grilled Mackerel (Saba Shioyaki), or Salted Salmon (Shiojake).
Tonjiru already has tons of root vegetables, so you can skip side dishes that contain similar ingredients, and instead, serve sides like:
- Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette)
- Simmered Koyadofu
- Instant Pot Kuromame
- Pickled Tomato
- Hijiki Seaweed Salad
Or if you’re really busy, just prepare a grilled fish and steamed rice, and that will still be an amazing nutritious meal!
Looking for Similar Comforting Miso Soups?
- Kenchinjiru (Vgetable Soup) {vegan}
- Sanpeijiru (Salmon Miso Soup)
- Miso Soup with Yuzu Kosho
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Instant Pot Tonjiru
Ingredients
- 2 Yukon gold potatoes (10 oz, 280 g)
- 1 onion (8 oz, 227 g)
- 2 inches daikon radish (5 oz, 150 g)
- 1 carrot (5 oz, 150 g)
- 1 gobo (burdock root) (4.8 oz, 135 g)
- 4.5 oz konnyaku (konjac) (½ block)
- ½ lb pork belly slices (freeze ahead of time for ½ hour for easier slicing)
- 6 cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) (use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- 2 green onions/scallions
- 8 Tbsp miso (more or less depending on miso; I used Enjuku Koji Miso from Hikari Miso)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- Cut 2 Yukon gold potatoes into slabs ¼ inch (6 mm) thick and then cut into sticks. Soak the potatoes in water to remove the starch, for about 15 minutes.
- Cut 1 onion into thin slices.
- Peel and cut 2 inches daikon radish into slabs ¼ inch (6 mm) thick and then cut into sticks.
- Cut 1 carrot in half lengthwise, then cut into ¼-inch (6-mm) slices.
- Scrape the skin of 1 gobo (burdock root) with the back of the knife. Gobo has a delicious earthy taste right below the skin; therefore, you do not use a peeler to peel off the soft skin. Cut the gobo in half lengthwise.
- Thinly slice the gobo diagonally. Soak in water for 15 minutes to get rid of the bitter taste. Optional: Add a dollop of vinegar to the water to make the gobo white.
- Cut 4.5 oz konnyaku (konjac) into ¼-inch (6-mm) slabs, then cut into sticks.
- Blanch the konnyaku in boiling water for 3 minutes to remove the smell. Drain konnyaku with a sieve.
- Cut ½ lb pork belly slices into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces. Tip: If you freeze the meat for about ½ hour ahead of time, it is much easier to cut.
To Cook
- All the ingredients should be ready to go.
- Press the Sauté button on your Instant Pot and heat 1 Tbsp neutral oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion and coat with the oil. Then add the meat and stir to combine.
- Add all the vegetables and konnyaku.
- Stir to combine and then add in 6 cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) last.
- The dashi should cover the ingredients. If not, then add more dashi (or water). Tip: The vegetables will release moisture, so don’t worry if you feel there is not enough soup at this stage.
- Press Cancel to stop the Saute menu. Close the lid and press the Manual or Pressure Cook menu. Then set to High pressure for 1 minute. Make sure the steam release handle points at Sealing and not Venting. The float valve goes up when pressurized.
- While the ingredients in the soup are being cooked, you can cut the green onions and set aside.
- When it’s finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the Keep Warm mode. Let the pressure release naturally for 30 minutes. If the valve hasn’t dropped yet, then quick release the pressure (be careful and cover your fingers with a mitten or kitchen towel).
- Open the lid and check if the hard vegetables are tender.
- Add 8 Tbsp miso. I used Hikari Miso Enjuku Koji Miso.
- Dissolve the miso in a ladle before releasing it to the soup. Make sure to taste the miso soup. If you added too much miso, add dashi (or water) to dilute. If it’s not enough, add more miso ½ Tbsp at a time.
To Serve
To Store
- Let cool completely and store in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. When you reheat, make sure not to over boil the miso soup. Tip: The best way to store miso soup is actually to store the soup BEFORE adding miso. You can take out the portion you will need into another pot and then add miso to taste. That way, you will always have the best tasting miso soup every time.
Equipment
- Instant Pot (a pressure cooker)
Hi Nami!
Thank you for the delicious recipe! Living in a place without restaurants that taste like my childhood I was surprised to be able to replicate a flavour that tastes like nostalgia, despite my substitutions (like grating an orange person for zest where yuzu kosho couldn’t be acquired) and omissions. This also felt very nourishing and budget friendly!
i do have one question I’m curious about, what does removing the starch do in this case? Does it keep the soup from becoming cloudy?
Thanks again for the delicious meal! It was a hit. Paired it with Korean vermicelli noodles and a side of orange slices.
Hi Grace, Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe! We are glad to hear you enjoyed it.
The starch was removed to make the soup clear. It also helps keep the potatoes separate and prevents them from being mashed.🙂
We hope this helps!
What do you suggest as a substitute for pork to make this vegetarian. Looking forward to making it!
Hello, Janis. You can make this soup without the pork or with Aburaage (fried tofu).
https://www.justonecookbook.com/aburaage/
We hope this was helpful! Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post!